Woman Means Something, my Conversation with Pastor Paul Dirks
by Collin Wynter
Woman means something, a campaign initiated by Paul Dirks, a Canadian Pastor, was formed from his “convictions” and “forged in his faith in Christ.” The mission, to shed light upon the encroachment of sex based rights in favour of transgender ideology. He does not speak for women, but speaks with them.
He first became aware of gender identity theory through its implementation in the New Westminster, BC, school system. Considering he had a daughter in school, he began to have concerns about the implications of such measures.
For the campaign, he personally undertook a research project regarding Target (a US department store) and its change-room self-identification policy. He has also reviewed research on transition studies. And he has testified at the Canadian Senate on Bill C 16.
Bill C 16 was an act to include gender identity and gender expression in the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code. It passed in 2016.
During his testimony he stated that the bill puts “women and children at risk of sexual violence” and “removes a woman’s right to consent when it comes to her bodily privacy”. At that time, he noted there had been 255 incidents of male sexual violence recorded, “largely of voyeurism,” in mixed and sex segregated spaces. Assaults occurred, as well.
Five years on, I had the pleasure of speaking with him on these issues. He re-counted the near secrecy of Bill C 16 and its movement through the house. The difference of opinion that he shared with a member of parliament regarding the matter. And that there was “significant bias” in the media.
A clear thinking person, he was able to expand upon his research and share some of his deeper concerns. That placing sex and gender in the same category is “pernicious” because gender appears to “negate” sex. That many long term studies on transition are not robust. For some, there was even a high rate “lost to follow up.” That findings did not necessarily support transition for better outcomes. And that suicide was still prevalent.
He does care about the well being of transgender people. He understands there are those who are gender non-conforming and realizes that this must be an “aggravating circumstance.” They do not deserve to be discriminated against. But once again we confront the crux of the matter: non-discrimination cannot be granted at the expense of the rights of another group.
What is of grave concern is the “huge numbers of children in government care” being put through transition. Dirks cites the work of Culture Guard, who investigated Dr [name redacted]. They recorded a public talk and discerned that “500+ Ministry children [were] in ‘Gender therapy,’” in British Columbia, Canada. It is vital to note that there is a large amount of indigenous children in care.
Dirks is grateful. His kindness while speaking with me was evident throughout the conversation. He will continue to fight alongside those who share the same voice.